Pentagon chiefs have been accused of ‘burying’ a report which showed they wasted $125billion, because they feared it would prompt Congress to slash the defense budget.

In January 2015, the Deputy Defense Secretary Robert O. Work commissioned a study to look at various options to cut costs and improve efficiency.

The Department of Defense’s total budget is $580billion and amounts to 16 per cent of all federal spending.

But when the findings highlighted widespread bureaucratic waste and overspending on staff, the report was shelved, sources told the Washington Post.

The report highlighted some shocking figures – the Pentagon employs 1,014,000 people to do back-office work. That is almost as many as the 1,300,000 service personnel on active duty, the lowest figure since 1940.

The evidence will help back up calls by Donald Trump to cut ‘government waste and budget gimmicks’ when he gets into office.

Pentagon chiefs have been accused of ‘burying’ a report which showed they wasted $125billion, because they feared it would prompt Congress to slash the defense budget

But he did say he would be increasing the defense spending budget.

The report, by the Defense Business Board, said $75billion could be saved over five years simply by renegotiating contracts and hiring cheaper workers.

It also said that twice as much could be saved if more aggressive productivity targets were adopted.

In the end the full board of the Pentagon voted to recommend a third option, which would have saved $125billion.

This sum would be the equivalent of the operating expenses of 50 army brigades.

The plan would have reduced the staff payroll through early retirements and post closures and cut costs by better use of information technology and reducing reliance of expensive contractors.

But it was mysteriously shelved by Mr Work, a former Under Secretary of the Navy.

Mr Work told the Washington Post: ‘There is this meme that we’re some bloated, giant organization. Although there is a little bit of truth in that… it vastly overstates what’s really going on.’

He said the Defense Business Board misunderstood how difficult it was to eliminate federal civil service jobs or renegotiate defense contracts.